VZCZCXRO9186
OO RUEHCN RUEHGA RUEHGH RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0803 1651959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131959Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8032
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS OTTAWA 000803
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM CH CA
SUBJECT: CANADIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS CALL ON CHINA TO
NEGOTIATE WITH DALAI LAMA
REF: OTTAWA 407
1. (U) Senator Consiglio Di Nino, chairman of the Canadian
Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Trade as well as head of the "Parliamentary
Friends of Tibet" group, on June 13 shared with PolMinCouns a
copy of a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for
"earnest" negotiations with the Dalai Lama. (Full text in
para 2.) 102 Members of Parliament -- primarily from the
three opposition parties (including leaders of the two
smaller ones as well as the shadow foreign minister from the
Official Opposition Liberal Party) but also including 17
members from the ruling Conservative Party -- and Senators
co-signed the letter. Parliament in 2006 granted honorary
Canadian citizenship to the Dalai Lama, who last met with
Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on October 29, 2007.
Members of "Parliamentary Friends of Tibet" separately met
with the Dalai Lama in April 2008, but not in Canada.
2. (U) Begin text
June 6, 2008
President Hu Jintao
President of the People's Republic of China
Office of the President
Beijing
People's Republic of China
Dear President Hu,
In the spirit of friendship and respect, we offer our
cooperation in finding a solution to the longstanding Tibetan
dispute.
It seems to us an honourable resolution is attainable. Your
government is seeking assurances that Tibet will be an
integral part of a sovereign China. His Holiness the Dalai
Lama has accepted this as a condition for declaring the
Tibetan Plateau a genuinely autonomous region where Tibetans
can speak their language, practise their religion and cherish
their culture.
Mr. President, while encouraged by your government's renewal
of contact with the Dalai Lama's representatives, we strongly
urge that negotiations begin in earnest with a firm
commitment to reach a settlement within a reasonable
timeframe. What is now required is trust and goodwill from
each side to craft an agreement that achieves both China's
objectives and the Tibetan people's aspirations.
We respectfully offer whatever assistance we may be able to
provide to bring this dispute to a successful conclusion.
Sincerely,
/s/
end text
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WILKINS